How to Learn the Stock Market Game

Buy and sell stocks for a profit.

With hundreds of websites on the Internet that are devoted to trading stocks, not only is investing in the stock market inexpensive, but there is plenty of information available to make stock picking easier than ever before. When you realize how easy it is to trade stocks after your first transaction, you'll be off to make your fortune. But first, you'll need to know the basics to really enjoy it.

Instructions

1. Buy your first shares. There are two ways to go about it. First, establish an account with a full-service broker who will guide you through the mysteries of investing in stocks. Second, open an account with an online broker. While each of these has plenty of research to help you, a full-service broker will execute the buy order while an online broker will not. Instead, you'll make the trades yourself, using a simple program. The full-service broker charges a hefty commission to do this, but an online broker will charge as little as $5 per transaction.

2. Have information at hand before you place your order. A full-service broker will simple need the name of the company and the number of shares you wish to purchase, but placing a buy order with an online broker is a bit harder. You will need the stock's ticker symbol. For instance, GM is the ticker symbol for General Motors. Next, you'll need to know the market where it is traded, like the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ, and the number of shares you want to buy. Then you'll give the price you want to pay, per share, and you'll need to provide the "good until" date, or how long you would like to keep the buy order open.

3. Make a sale of shares. This is very similar to the way you buy shares. If you have a full-service broker, simply call him with the order to sell a number of a company's shares and he'll do the rest. If your assets are with an online broker, your first step is to check your list of stocks to be sure that you have them to sell. Note the ticker symbol and the number of shares you wish to sell and enter that information on the sell order. Just like buying stocks, you'll need to enter the price you wish to sell them for, or indicate you wish to sell them for whatever the market offers at the time you place you sell order. If you have a particular price in mind, you'll also need to note when you wish the offer to sell to expire.

4. You can cancel or change the buy or sell order with your full-service broker or online broker as long as the transaction is not completed. If you are trading a stock that's listed on one of the major exchanges and you are dealing with an online broker, you may have only seconds to make this change, thanks to the way they are automated. You may have a longer time to make a change if you are dealing with a full-service broker.

References

• Stocks Basics: How Stocks Trade